Foundations
by Tis the Fairy
Summary: The relative calm aboard the Enterprise as they embark on their new mission doesn't sit well with our restless captain. Let's just hope that he isn't too much of a burden on his crew- both old and new. Kirk/OC.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N- A little about this fic then, after getting over my initial _bedazzlement _of that wonderful film I immediately started imagining what happens at the beginning of the five year mission. I also began thinking about life in outer space (obligatory duh). I hear that nowadays 99.9% or something close to it you're floating around doing bugger all. And I just figured that despite warp speed et al it must get like that sometimes aboard the Enterprise...then a plot formed (though I doubt it's not really visible at this stage)...then an OC formed and then, well you'll see. _

_This is primarily a Kirk/OC with assumed Spock/Uhura and one-sided Kirk/Uhura (kind of like the film). _

_Enjoy. _

_Disclaimer- I do not own Star Trek, (as of yet anyhow). _

**Foundations**

**Chapter 1**

When he took a spin clockwise in his chair, he saw them in this order: First two yellow blurs who he knew to be his trusty navigators, bent diligently over their display screens, there to ensure that the latest and best starship of the federation's fleet didn't acquire any nasty dents or scratches from passing asteroids and whatnot on route to their very first mission. After all, the cost of a paint job on a ship this size had to be immense, far more than any ensign could hope to pay in his lifetime that was for sure.

Next a familiar (and favorite) form came sliding into view. Even facing away from him and at this speed she was an enthralling sight. The red-clad silhouette was guaranteed to be attentively performing her duties; head inclined to one side so as to better receive the sounds of those, so distant they may as well not even exist at all. He mentioned this to her once (of course he did, he rarely thought something he would not say aloud- both a credit and a hindrance to his character). And for his troubles he was informed, with no lack of animosity that thinking such things meant that he obviously had no grasp of the purpose of communications and should kindly keep to his own work in the future. He would, like most of the advice he received, take no notice of this comment and carry on regardless, stubborn as he was.

A perfectly straight streak of blue shot through his vision, resembling the indigo end of a line spectrum, it could be no one else of course than the other half of his most recently budding friendship. The stiff profile was so severe in his viewing of the many displays lining the opposite wall that he could almost feel his own back ache at the thought of standing so utterly incredibly upright.

He only just managed to catch the opening of the turbolift as he was brought back again to his original position, but nevertheless he could hear the soft sound of doors swishing open to reveal a person, who he could only see from his brief vantage point was wearing blue.

...Something was different this time around. The previously occupied figures were all now fixed squarely in his direction, almost as if forming a circle of faces around him.

Setting his feet down he effectively stopped the rotation of his captain's chair (of which he was sure had never been used for such a purpose before) and landed in front of the newcomer.

"...Jim" Bones asked slowly, no doubt confused but probably not shocked at the bizarre actions of his long time friend,

"Just what exactly _are _you doing?"

He was probing carefully, perhaps giving him a chance to respond in a way that may make him seem even slightly less insane to the rest of the crew and indeed judging by the looks he was receiving that was definitely the way things were heading.

Spock was in danger of losing his eyebrows permanently if he raised them any higher, but this was the extent of his disapproval and even that was hard to spot due to the conspicuously high arches.

Kirk was mildly pleased with this reaction, even the smallest of changes in that impassive visage held the same triumph as coaxing a drop of blood from a stone. Unlike that of the woman sat next to his second in command which brought him a feeling nothing akin to achievement. Uhura had on her a look so disparaging that he thought it almost marred the beauty of her smooth face, almost.

He decided to give it a go, couldn't make it much worse now anyway.

"Uh, crew...inventory" Well it was near enough the truth and the lofty smile he sent in their direction may even help.

Bones gave a gruff sigh (was there any other way for him?) and reached over to put a hand on the back of the captain's chair to forcefully right Kirk in the correct direction. He couldn't see, but judging from the swift movements of the crew it was evident to Kirk that Bones had just given them a glaring of a lifetime from behind his back.

"Jim we have been on this ship for barely a _day_ and you're already getting cabin fever?"

Bones said tersely. It was true, it had not yet been 24 hours since the take-off of their five year mission, and they were currently on course to their first assignment. Diplomatic duties to a small, fledging Earth colony on a planet whose name he had yet to learn how to pronounce, but had five days until arrival to perfect.

There was no danger, no sense of urgency. They were practically drifting along to this presumably peaceful destination at a low warp speed and Kirk was not enjoying the anti-climax.

It may not have been a day but it had been a good few many hours on the bridge, being not all together productive for the young captain. True he relished in the first few hours doling out orders to his subordinates, all in good-humor for it was exiting to be back in this place. But soon everybody seemed to get so _busy_- that is apart from him.

Kirk inclined his head towards his chief medical officer, "So what exactly is it we're supposed to do when not playing hero?"

Bones turned around, apparently deciding that his check up on him was over. At first Kirk thought that he was about to leave without answering when Bones stated over his shoulder-

"Just shut up, sit down and don't stop the rest of us from working". And with that he was gone.

Unfortunately for the crew of the USS Enterprise these happen to be exactly the things that their good captain Kirk happens to be utterly incapable of.

.x

_Sickbay is for the sick..._

Was it wrong for a Doctor to wish that someone, _anyone_ would walk through the doors of sickbay requiring medical attention? Dr Laurence, one of the many new additions to the starship's medical crew couldn't help but yearn for exactly this for the hundredth time in so many minutes.

She, by no means thought of herself as a negligent doctor (although, she mused with a mind that has far more free time than it ought that that _would_ be the mind processes of such a person) but after rearranging every store cupboard in sight-_twice_ it was difficult not to go all dreamy eyed at the thought of phaser wound to be treated.

Or even a niggling cough would do really, she wouldn't mind.

It had been a number of hours since she had received any specific orders, her direct superior Dr McCoy had only been visible for a brief time in which he had terrified half of the new staff with his brusque, straightforward introduction to sickbay onboard starship.

He gave the usual responsibility/vigilance/dedication talk before skirting off to his own, more pressing duties, leaving her and the others to find what work they could in the quiet beginning of there time here.

She supposed it might have not been so different if she were in any other hospital back on Earth, there were dead shifts in any location. At least here she had the prospect of gaining access to unique conditions, the likes of which were rare back home. Just not yet apparently.

That was her main line of reasoning when deciding to accept the offer to come aboard the USS Enterprise as a junior Doctor, fresh out of the Star Fleet Academy. Little else had crossed her mind as she was not given much time to consider, the ship would leave of course with o without her. She wondered now if she had been too impulsive, but it hardly mattered now in any case.

Boredom was a dangerous thing, she had decided and she walked up to one of the large computer databases to read up on the medical entries for the treatments performed when the ship was last in mid duty. A particular file stood out from the plethora of mainly flesh wounds that occur when a ship is under attack. A severe reaction to a vaccine for an uncommon disease, one which she was sure was almost unheard of in the quadrant they were last in.

While skimming through the entry she did not hear the turbolift arrive, nor the footsteps making their way towards her.

"I wouldn't look too closely into that particular incident Doctor; it's unlikely to occur again. He's captain now so I doubt he needs my help to get on board"

Startled, she gave the smallest of flinches and turned to find the chief himself behind her. He didn't seem to notice though as he leaned over her shoulder, eyes fixed on the screen.

She didn't quite know what he meant by his comment and was about to ask but he was already busy bringing up a number files on exotic and unfamiliar maladies.

"If you want some reading material I suggest you get to work on these, they're the most common and most dangerous illnesses circulating out next stop. Pay special attention to that last one, anyone catches that and we're all in deep trouble"

She nodded slightly, thinking this was all rather nice of him, if not a tad paranoid. But seeing as he was her superior she decided to only voice her first thought.

"Thanks Doctor McCoy, I'll be glad to get on it right away" It occurred to her that this would probably last her until her next break, which was a while off now and considerably brightened in her mood.

She opened her mouth, just about to relate her gratitude at his relieving her previous state of idleness before remembering that it was probably best not to admit this to this man, who was essentially her boss.

Seeing her hesitation seemed to irritate him though, "If you've got something else to say come on out with it, I'm a Doctor not a mind reader."

"Oh, it's nothing really, I was just thinking that it had become a little too quiet down here and was glad for the distraction" She answered honestly, not really wanting to be caught out by a man who had the reputation of an extensively poked sleeping dragon when aggravated.

He gave her a hard look and she wondered what he was thinking. "Don't get too complacent now, when the trouble starts it will all come crashing down in one large wave, you'll get you're fill don't worry, just make sure you're ready when it happens"

He left, turning in the direction of his small office and she back to her files. Thinking over his words she wondered how she might cope in the type of large scale emergencies that occurred on these types of ships. Sure she had been in dozens of simulations throughout her time at the academy but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that it would be enough to prepare her for the potential carnage of space travel.

All she could do for now was read up on the fascinating, but unlikely forms of danger heading her way. That and keep waiting for the patient or two that was bound to walk through those doors at some point today.

.x

Kirk or _Captain _Jim Kirk as he was practically calling himself nowadays in his head was ambling his way to lunch in fairly high spirits. The corridors were packed with people at this time, some of whom would wave to their leader; others would push past not looking to up to see who he was. It didn't really bother him, he was out of the bridge, using his legs and everything. It was great.

An enthusiastic, heavily accented voice rose above the chattering crowds and filtered down the hallway towards him. The source, his pleasantly youthful and lively Russian navigator could be seen over the heads of the masses. His curly crop bounced with each excited step as he bounded forwards, while talking eagerly to the petite brunette beside him.

The young woman seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble keeping up with him, not that her companion noticed. Arms flailing in wide gestures, those walking adjacent to him felt the need to duck to avoid his gangling limbs.

"-and 'eere is zee meese 'all next, eet is before the next lift" The boy strode forward importantly, pointing the room out and very nearly taking out someone's eye in the process.

The girl's face showed clear signs of confusion and Kirk could see her muttering to herself. "meese 'all?...missile?..."

She quickly peered into the room as they passed, "Oh _mess hall_!"

It was Chekov's turn to be bewildered as he turned around (almost colliding with several people in the crowded hallway in the attempt), to check on the girl, no doubt startled by her unexpected interruption.

"Oh...I just really love food that's all..." She answered his wordless enquiry with a rather airy manner in an obvious attempt to spare the kid's feelings. It was kind of her really and made Kirk grin. She evidently wasn't aware that this was a daily struggle between Chekov and pretty much every other member of staff. Even inanimate computers had to ask him to repeat himself multiple times before even getting the gist of what was said.

They stopped outside a turbolift a few feet away from him and he decided to make his way towards the pair.

He was certain he had never come across this girl before, he definitely would have stopped to look twice. She was a very pretty, slight little thing. Mahogany colored hair pulled into a messy bun with a multitude of wispy strands undone, framing her pale face. And lovely eyes. Large, gray, pretty things...yes he most certainly would have remembered if he had seen her before.

He strode forward, intent on unleashing the full extent of his infallible charm on this newcomer when a firm clap to the shoulder made him whirl around by instinct to find himself in the presence of his chief engineer.

The enthusiastic Scot gave him a wide smile as he relayed that the previous, small problem he had been having with the left engine (of which Kirk could not remember in the first place) had been successfully fixed and he fully intended on a hearty meal to celebrate. Kirk was only half listening once he ascertained that the information was not vital and quickly glanced around back to the turbolift.

They were gone and Kirk's mood dropped just a little. He sighed following an unaware Scotty into the mess hall and got a half hour of the theoretical physics behind the warp drive for his troubles.

.x


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N- Okay I hold my hands up, I have some major apologies to make for the extreme lateness of this chapter. A few weeks ago I went on holiday and (wrongly) assumed that I would have internet access. I didn't and I apologize. I returned a couple of days ago and rushed to get this chapter out which by all rights should have been out ages ago. _

_On a happier note I must thank all who took the time to review, you guys are just AMAZING! I got some great feedback and I hope I've done you all justice in this next chapter. Reviews are very important as they help me into the next chapter, this is my first fic that isn't in first person (you can probably tell) and I feel like I'm jumping in blind into each chapter. So your opinions are very important to me in order to write. _

_This is a Kirk-centric chapter and I truly hope you enjoy it. _

**Foundations**

**Chapter 2**

Deep within the bowels of the grand USS Enterprise, two uniformed men were making their way though the labyrinth of pipes and towers of humming machinery in a methodical fashion.

The moods of these two men could not have differed more at this point in time. One, clothed in red walked slightly ahead of the other, displaying not superiority but passion for their surroundings, exuding an air of fervor.

He displayed every sign of being both delighted and content with his current situation. Skimming his hands on the sides of every control panel they passed, lightly patting some of the more protruding pieces of high tech-ery in their path- yes, he was clearly a man in his most natural and beloved of habitats, the kind that ought to make those passing smile at his exuding happiness, being themselves rather graciously happy for him.

But the second man quite obviously did not adhere to this common reaction, as he could only be described as looking as though he was in physical pain to have found himself on these particular set of decks.

Kirk was feeling sullen (or as close to sullen as he can truly get) and somewhat sorry for himself. While Scotty bounded ahead of him, chattering some half intelligible nonsense about the backward thrusters or hyper-inter-quantum-something-or-other Kirk was silent, having on his mind only one thing- _how in the hell had he let himself get down here anyway?_

And it was of course everybody's fault but his. But in that wide group of suspects one in particular was receiving the brunt of his mental tirade. And it was not for the first time that his, now first officer had been in such a position in Kirk's mind.

On this particular occasion it was a mixture of Spock's unflappable logic and Kirk's own pride that got him sent to a place in which he wished to run for his life. This time from the Chief engineer's seemingly unstoppable techno-babble, previously from giant ice dwelling monsters, Kirk couldn't decide which was worse.

He had returned from the bridge much in the same state as when he left it, bored to tears and contemplating ditching the rest of his shift for better and brighter prospects in the field of irritating Bones into that hyper-exasperated state in which that peculiar and elusive vein in his forehead makes a rare appearance.

Some of the bridge crew where still on their lunch break, having started later than Kirk, including his communications officer and his stoic Vulcan semi-friend. A lot of their breaks appeared to coincide with one another, but he had learnt his lesson in not remarking his observations aloud for fear of the undoubtedly cruel and unusual punishments to follow (from Uhura, not Spock, she was definitely the scarier of the two in his books, by a long shot).

He had started to pace around the bridge having already made his way around the diminished staff and slumping back into his chair to find that he was becoming rather sick of staring at the back of that Russian kid's head- and judging from the increasing frequency of nervous glances he was receiving from the young navigator, he was none too fond of it either.

The doors hissed to announce the arrival of the charming Lt. Uhura. Despite almost certainly having dined with Spock they never returned together, as though only certain areas of the ship were deemed appropriate for them being seen in each others company. An invisible barrier having been set up outside entrance to the bridge.

He secretly thought it odd that they considered scheduling breaks together an action that could be passed off as the behaviour of work colleagues _and nothing else_ but to arrive at their place of work at the same time, one with relatively few staff members compared to other, more populated sections of the ship, as suspicion rousing activity.

Or at least he hoped it wasn't considered suspicious, after all he had just entered with Sulu, and the last thing he needed were more of those kinds of rumors spawning.

Just as he was beginning to wonder when Spock was going to show his face- undoubtedly standing outside entrance to the Bridge, eyes at a clock face, waiting for the appropriate number of minutes to pass- when the pointy eared man himself strode in, taking the most direct path from door to station as possible.

Anyone else might have missed the little signs, or else misinterpreted them. The way Uhura, head still bent over her control panel would follow the science officer with her eyes. The way, when seated Spock's own gaze would flicker in her direction and both would simultaneously move back to their separate work.

Kirk was, among other things, a good natured soul. He just didn't have it in him to feel bitterly towards the strange couple. And as such he was truly happy for them. He enjoyed seeing the (dare he say) tenderness that would occasionally overcome the usually chilled expression of the Vulcan.

The treat of seeing the soft smiles of Uhura, a face who he himself had not experienced much in the way of joy from, where also a pleasure to behold.

But another overwhelming feature of his was pure, unadulterated stubbornness. He loathed to let anything go without a fight and he couldn't deny that for all the acid remarks and derisive looks he had received from her and had playfully ignored, he really had believed that she would eventually come around.

Yield to what though he couldn't be sure, a small, often suppressed part of him would like to say that she was different from the usual and he would be different. But another, more dominant and realistic side had to concede that perhaps after the thrill of the chase it might end the same way as any of his other such endeavors- pleasant but ultimately indistinct.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now.

On a whim he ambled over to his first officer's station behind him, hoping that he might provide some form of distraction. Kirk came up to the stiff figure and gave him hard pat on the shoulder by way of greeting. For Spock's credit he didn't even flinch, much less throw off his bothersome Captain.

"I believe I requested that you refrain from doing that Jim, and yet this is the eighth occasion since."

Despite the cool words Kirk could detect no malice, in fact a quiet amusement rested in his eyes. Their friendship was new, very new and unstable at best, but they were definitely making progress, slow as it may be. And he was still using his first name. That was a good sign.

"Now, now Spock, just when will you learn that the art of horseplay is both ancient and revered. To be respected and upheld as tradition entails. Give it time I guess you'll see its value some day."

"I highly doubt that Jim, is there something you wish to discuss?" Conversations with the Commander often played out this way, despite the brisk answers given by him they could often go on for quite a while.

"Oh, so many things, but so little time in which to discuss them. But if you insist why don't I just pull up a chair and we'll just settle down for the afternoon." Suddenly he was in a bantering frame of mind, a little more spry than usual. It must have been the rush of human(ish) interaction without shop talk.

However much a raised eyebrow alone constituted as an adequate response from Spock he also replied.

"As appealing as that sounds I believe that our shifts are far from the over and that we are both required to remain at our stations until the authorized shift end."

"Well Spock, I don't know about you about you but _I'm_ still carrying out my duties. Have you never heard of making rounds about your staff? It's regulation practice for a Captain like myself. Why I'd be a pretty shoddy Captain-"An almost inaudible cough came from the direction of the communications hub which he decided to ignore for now. "-if I didn't check up on my crew's wellbeing every now and then."

"Well then perhaps you would like to _check up _on the rest of the crew, as I assure you I am at perfect accordance and necessitate none of your consideration in such a matter."

Kirk grinned, almost overbearingly in Spock's direction, he was having fun now. Just as her he was to answer his ever so slightly condescending lower ranking officer Uhura decided to give her opinion. She could never resist correcting Kirk, even now.

"Are you not supposed to bother crew members unless given a cause for concern? And besides Captain, don't you have better things to do, like actually doing some _Captaining_."

She had angled her chair to the side so as to better face him, and by association Spock. She had the exact same look on her face as she did back at the Academy, in the few classes they shared, when she would turn around in her seat and tell him to shut the hell up and stop bothering their peers. Shaking himself out of these fond memories he was able to reply.

"But this is such a vital part of Captaining, and I should know. And anyway everyone's getting along fine for the moment- Right Helmsman!" Kirk called across the Bridge to Sulu who swiftly turned around looking bewildered at the shout in the sedate atmosphere that was.

"What? What's wrong?!"

"_See, _he knows what he's doing." Kirk said with undeserved smugness. Uhura looked utterly unconvinced as did Spock. The pair shared a brief look that Kirk was not offended by, he was used to it by now.

"Well if you are adamant in performing your more obscure duties then it is not our place to state otherwise."

Well that wasn't what he was expecting, but before he could bemoan the lack of struggle Spock spoke up again.

"You do remember the proper procedures you must follow if you wish to carry out rounds about the ship?"

Come to think of it, he didn't. He did know a lot about proper Starfleet regulation, it was handy throwing people off who assumed from his cavalier attitude that he didn't know any better (he did, he just chose to ignore it). He was curious now, but didn't really want to show it.

"Of course I do. But uh, why don't you tell me first, I have to keep you on your toes you know."

Uhura openly sighed and Kirk knew he was being obvious, but his pride insisted that he at least tried to pretend he knew what he was talking about half the time.

"Certainly. As you know a Captain must make his way deck by deck, starting of course with those under the most pressure and demand aboard the ship- Engineering."

Well Spock could never be accused of drawing anything out. A slightly horrified look passed Kirk's face which Uhura caught without hesitation.

"What's the matter Captain, didn't want this? Don't tell me you thought it would be all irritating Bridge members did you? We have to be reasonable you know, give everyone their fair share."

And with that Kirk had no choice but to haul himself over to the most dreaded of decks or else risk losing valuable face in front of Uhura and Spock. He probably could have got out of it, but he was always especially aware of any decrease in masculinity in the presence of Uhura, it had always been this way.

He also could have supposed, if he weren't in such agony right now, that Spock wasn't really to blame, but he was suffering and really needed someone other than himself to be held responsible.

Kirk was pulled out of his brooding thoughts when Scotty began abruptly shouting at a young engineer.

"What do yer think ya doin' laddie?! Ya canna turn the dilithium chamber to such an force! Do ya want to put the ship into overdrive?!"

The engineer looked suitably admonished and made the corrections as swiftly as if held at phaser point. Kirk shot Scotty a curious look, almost glad for the young man's mistake as it provided some slight interest.

"These bloody newbie crew members, don't know an impulse engine from a hole in the ground." Kirk didn't quite know what to say to that, so for once he remained silent.

Indeed there were many new members of crew about, especially in engineering. Statistically it was the area with the highest turnover aboard a ship, it was more likely that those in engineering got themselves killed or injured, they suffered among the greatest amounts of stress, being responsible for the safety of all the crew. Particularly after the Enterprise's first and most recent excursion it appeared that almost all the crew in the lower decks had been replaced.

In this particular section the layout was that of many layers of overlapping walkways above the ground floor. Looking up Kirk could see the soles of the crewmember's shoes as the walked above him on the grated metal paths. They walked quickly and busily, some carrying large pieces of technology and the rest with datapads.

Well, some of them had been holding their objects. The person directly above them however was not. He had dropped his large metal something-or-other which then proceeded to fall directly on Kirk's left foot.

He didn't notice the pain at first, only the sound of metal clanging close to him. Then it came.

He gave a shout and lifted his foot up away from the offending object, now feeling the sharp throb of his injury intensify with each movement. He turned to find Scotty looking up at the culprit, yelling and shaking his fists.

Kirk was inclined to join him but while precariously balanced on one foot he wasn't sure that he could manage to stay upright and threaten bodily harm upon a crew member at the same time without toppling over.

As other nearby crew members rushed to their Captain's aid he realised that this would probably mean a trip to sickbay. He cringed recalling the last time he entered the ship's medical ward and the innumerable hypos that would surely come his way. Well Bones better get ready; he wasn't going down without a fight.

.x


End file.
